MooPig's Abused Terminology Department :: "Derivatives: Some Explanations from the Arts, Please."

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State of the Art :: Derivatives
Re-Framed by Pat Darnell | Jan 15, 2012 | Bryan TX

Today while the TEXANS cogitate in the locker room during half time of their playoff game at Baltimore... I am decidedly anxious to find the root of a certain terminology that has been vastly abused: Derivatives.

Last week I re-watched a 2009 documentary -- "Capitalism: A Love Story" -- produced by Michael Moore. At one point Moore asks people going in a out of the CHASE bank building if they knew what a Derivative is. It perked me up, and soon I wanted to know what a Derivative is.

" ... His [Moore's] study of the meltdown leads him to the puzzling matter of "derivatives," the mysterious financial instruments involved in the bank collapses. In the film, Moore asks three "experts" to explain a derivative to him. They can't. (Ebert, Roger. Sep 27, 2009. LINK) ... "

-- [Half-Time is over; second half, TEXANS still losing] --

Go to that LINK. My referenced blog post from Ebert.com repeats a good story from the film. Bank directors don't even know what derivatives are.

A Google search of Moore, Michael, derivatives, movie ... produced a few interesting explanatory bits; but nothing to placate my uneasiness about this subject.

One blogger (Powell, Tom. Oct 7, 2009. LINK) said about the derivatives gamblers "... Eventually, the government stepped in to save them by creating a bailout package that was funded by tax payers from states where gambling is prohibited. ... "

Searching "Clinton, derivatives," ... (Zumbrun, Joshua. April 18, 2010. LINK) " ... Former President Bill Clinton said his Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers were wrong in the advice they gave him about regulating derivatives when he was in office. ... "

EXCERPT | " ... Their argument was that derivatives didn’t need transparency because they were “expensive and sophisticated and only a handful of people will buy them and they don’t need any extra protection,” Clinton said. “The flaw in that argument was that first of all, sometimes people with a lot of money make stupid decisions and make it without transparency.”
“Even if less than 1 percent of the total investment community is involved in derivative exchanges, so much money was involved that if they went bad, they could affect 100 percent of the investments,” Clinton said. (Ibid. LINK) ... "

At the Article  " ... Summers, director of Obama’s National Economic Council, said in a Bloomberg Television interview last week that the Obama administration supports “the principles that derivatives need to be traded in the sunshine, that there needs to be centralized clearing.” (ibid.)... "

But then a small bit of enlightening information shines: there are 'standardized derivatives' and 'customized derivatives' out there, Rubin said in his "April 8 testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission." But remember Rubin is the guy Clinton said led financial trustworthiness astray.

I remember the first derivatives I ever saw were in the appendix of a Calculus book. Is that the origin of this worldwide derision about derivatives? It depends on how well you understand, and have kept up with Calculus... ? YIKES!!!!!! No wonder nobody has a clue what they are.

Foreclosed? Advice you can use from the helpful Michael Moore :: rogerebert.com :: People:   "So these derivatives are essentially bets on bets."

'via Blog this'

-- [TEXANS just made a Goal Line stand] --

Conclusion
Where do we go from here? Every large and established business has a customized derivative of its financial system. Every Institution, Government branch, and Holding Company it is the same. Some groups have standardized derivatives, that any mathematics graduate can maybe decipher.

But for the general population, you have to suck it up. Like in this drawing below: the apple is falling and can be measured in its progress using a standard velocity derivative, right?

But the ground is falling, while spinning too -- and the tree is falling and spinning with that model as well ... and while it is measureable ... your standard derivative has just become customized and infinitely complicated.

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NEXT WEEK: Who wishes the American Financial System gets a Lobotomy?

-- [TEXANS lose 20 to 13 ...] --

___________________Reference
http://www.hedgeco.net/blogs/2009/10/07/michael-moore-here-is-a-derivative-explanation-for-you/
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090927/PEOPLE/909279997

Ship Wreck near Italy Shore

Caption This! :: ... Is this the Singularity?
Retrieved from various Sources by Pat Darnell  |  Jan 15, 2012  |  Bryan TX

Survivors UPDATE: “I just said, ‘Kick Andy! Kick! Swim! We’ve got our children to look forward to!’ And I just pushed and pushed, and eventually I just saw the boat coming down and said 'We’ve got to clear this or we’re going to drown,' ” he recalled.
They eventually made it to solid ground and climbed on some rocks.
“I didn’t have the strength anymore. I was tired from the swimming. The swim to the shore was about 80 to 100 metres, I would estimate it at,” he said. “I know looking back now with the ship lying there it looks like it was just a walk to this, but believe me it wasn’t.”
The couple finally reached the top of the rocks. They sat and turned to watch the ship.
“It just rested, and that’s where it stopped,” said Davis. (CBC News. Jan 15, 2012. LINK)

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MooPig's Dictionary and Thesaurus Moment :: Define 'deregulate'

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Define 'deregulate' | Dictionary and Thesaurus:
English


Verb


To remove the regulations from.


Translations:


to remove the regulations from
Czech: deregulovat
German: deregulieren

EXCERPT | " ... Deregulation 1970-2000

'Deregulation' gained momentum in the 1970s, influenced by research at the University of Chicago and the theories of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich von Hayek, and Milton Friedman, among others. Two leading ‘think tanks’ in Washington, the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute, were active in holding seminars and publishing studies advocating deregulatory initiatives throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Alfred E. Kahn played an unusual role in both publishing as an academic and participating in the Carter Administration's efforts to deregulate transportation. ... "

'via Blog this'

Do you think the Ferengi would put up with Regulations? REally?
Retrieved by Pat Darnell | Jan 15, 2012 | Bryan TX

1. Once you have their money ... never give it back.
2. Never pay more for an acquisition than you have to.
3. Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity.
4. A man is only worth the sum of his possessions. (From Enterprise, episode "Acquisition"; sloppy script-writing, as rule 6 (see above) was already given in DS9)
5. Keep your ears open.
6. Small print leads to large risk.
7. Opportunity plus instinct equals profit.
8. Greed is eternal.
9. Anything worth doing is worth doing for money.
10. A deal is a deal ... until a better one comes along.
11. A contract is a contract is a contract (but only between Ferengi).
12. A Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all.
13. Satisfaction is not guaranteed.
14. Never place friendship above profit.
15. A wise man can hear profit in the wind.
16. Nothing is more important than your health--except for your money.
17. There's nothing more dangerous than an honest businessman.
18. Never make fun of a Ferengi's mother ... insult something he cares about instead.
19. It never hurts to suck up to the boss.
20. Peace is good for business.
21. War is good for business.
22. She can touch your lobes but never your latinum.
23. Profit is its own reward.
24. Never confuse wisdom with luck.
25. Expand, or die.
26. Don't trust a man wearing a better suit than your own.
27. The bigger the smile, the sharper the knife.
28. Never ask when you can take.
29. Good customers are as rare as latinum -- treasure them.
30. There is no substitute for success.
31. Free advice is seldom cheap.
32. Keep your lies consistent.
33. The riskier the road, the greater the profit.
34. Win or lose, there's always Hyperian beetle snuff.
35. Home is where the heart is ... but the stars are made of latinum.
36. Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies.
37. Beware of the Vulcan greed for knowledge.
38. The flimsier the product, the higher the price.
39. Never let the competition know what you're thinking.
40. Ask not what your profits can do for you, but what you can do for your profits.
41. Females and finances don't mix.
42. Enough ... is never enough.
43. Trust is the biggest liability of all.
44. Nature decays, but latinum lasts forever.
45. Sleep can interfere with profit. (DS9 season 2, episode 7 - "Rules of Acquisition")
46. Faith moves mountains ... of inventory.
47. There is no honour in poverty.
48. Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack.
49. Treat people in your debt like family ... exploit them.
50. Never have sex with the boss's sister.
51. Always have sex with the boss.
52. You can't free a fish from water.
53. Everything is for sale, even friendship.
54. Even a blind man can recognize the glow of latinum.
55. Wives serve, brothers inherit.
56. Only fools pay retail.
57. There's nothing wrong with charity ... as long as it winds up in your pocket.
58. Even in the worst of times someone turns a profit.
59. Know your enemies ... but do business with them always.
60. Not even dishonesty can tarnish the shine of profit.
61. Let others keep their reputation. You keep their money.
62. Never cheat a Klingon ... unless you're sure you can get away with it.
63. It's always good business to know about new customers before they walk in the door.
64. The justification for profit is profit.
65. New customers are like razortoothed grubworms. They can be succulent, but sometimes they can bite back.
66. Employees are rungs on the ladder of success. Don't hesitate to step on them.
67. Never begin a negotiation on an empty stomach.
68. Always know what you're buying.
69. Beware the man who doesn't make time for oo-mox.
70. Latinum lasts longer than lust.
71. You can't buy fate.
72. Never be afraid to mislabel a product.
73. More is good ... all is better.
74. A wife is a luxury ... a smart accountant is a necessity.
75. A wealthy man can afford anything except a conscience.
76. Never allow doubt to tarnish your love of latinum.
77. When in doubt, lie.
78. Deep down everyone's a Ferengi.
79. No good deed ever goes unpunished.
80. [Quark's rule] When Morn leaves, it's all over. (Jacob, Stephen. Jan 15, 2012. LINK )

________________Reference
http://deregulate.askdefine.com/
http://www.sjtrek.com/trek/rules/
http://www.thefunniestwebsiteeverbuild.com/ferengi
http://sundaycomicsdebt.blogspot.com/2011/03/shoes-army-toolbox.html
http://www.wwco.com/photos/20060105LasVegasCES/StarTrek/slides/Ferengi.html
http://showmethemoney-tbone.blogspot.com/2011_04_10_archive.html

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MooPig's Vacation like a Kennedy :: "Taking a Cruise?"

Retrieved by Pat Darnell  |  Jan 14, 2012  |  Bryan TX

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Until 2001, I had been thinking how nice to one day take my better half on a cruise for our anniversary. The Twin Towers disasters of 911, the piracy of late, and ... well ... uncertainty a major factor in this dream; I have dread of ever going on a cruise. Behold, a cruise ship runs aground, falls on its side.

Think about it, high seas adventures are death sentences today. I would buy a Time Share rather than buy a berth on a modern cruise ship! That's not saying much.

breaking news - national news - world news - azcentral.com: "Three bodies were recovered from the sea after the Costa Concordia with 4,234 people aboard ran aground hundreds of yards (meters) off the tiny island of Giglio near the coast of Tuscany late Friday, tearing a 160-foot (50-meter) gash in its hull and sending in a rush of water." (NICOLE WINFIELD and FRANCES D'EMILIO. Jan 14, 2012. Associated Press) ... "

'via Blog this'

EXCERPT " ... She choked up as she recounted the moment when an Argentine couple handed her their 3-year-old daughter, unable to keep their balance as the ship lurched to the side and the family found themselves standing on a wall. "He said 'take my baby,'" Mrs. Ananias said, covering her mouth with her hand as she teared up. "I grabbed the baby. But then I was being pushed down. I didn't want the baby to fall down the stairs. I gave the baby back. I couldn't hold her.

"I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby," she said.

"I wonder where they are," daughter Valerie whispered. ... "

________________________Reference
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_ITALY_CRUISE_AGROUND?SITE=AZPHG&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
http://www.whiotv.com/ap/ap/top-news/coast-guard-ship-aground-off-italy-bodies-found/pMkqS/
http://surftweeters.com/titanic-like-scene-passengers-recount-panic-on-cruise-ship-that-ran-aground-off-italy/

MooPig's "One Hundred Years"

What is different today from a hundred years ago?
Re framed by Pat Darnell | Jan 12, 2012 | Bryan TX

The report, "Climate: Observations, projections and impacts," examined how climate change will modify the weather in 24 countries around the world. Floods, heat, migration: How extreme weather will transform cities (George Webster, for CNN. January 2, 2012)

[PHOTO post by GearHead 1920 Model T Ford LINK]


What Difference Does a Hundred Years of Humanity Make, Anyway? 

by Jean Kinzel  ::  ‎1911 Ford Model T

The year is 1911 --- One hundred (and one) years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1911:
************ ********* ************
The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph..
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower !
The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist $2,500 per year,
a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,
and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at home.
Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION.
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which
were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard."
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month,
and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from
entering into their country for any reason.

The Five leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5.. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30!!!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was neither a Mother's Day nor a Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent
of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter
at the local corner drugstores.

Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion,
gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels,
and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!"

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help ....
There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

Geez, try to imagine what will be said about 2012 in another 100 years.
'via Blog this'



__________________Reference
http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/effect-global-warming-cities
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/23/world/asia/climate-change-impact-cities/index.html?hpt=hp_bn6

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